Background: Aldosterone levels are high early after admission for ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) concomitantly with high risk of sudden death and life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia.
Methods: We assessed the hypothesis that early aldosterone blockade on admission for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) may be associated with a reduction of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia in a prospective cohort-nested case (n=159) versus historical control (n=623) study. All cases were treated on admission by 200mg IV bolus of potassium canrenoate, followed by 25mg PO spironolactone daily during the coronary care unit stay. The primary endpoint--in-hospital composite of death, resuscitated cardiac arrest and ventricular tachycardia--was assessed by logistic regression models adjusted on major pre-specified variables and validated by a bootstrap procedure and propensity-score based analyses.
Results: Aldosterone blockade was associated with lower risks of the primary endpoint (adjusted ORs 0.26, 95% CI [0.13-0.57]), resuscitated cardiac arrest (adjusted OR 0.39, 95% CI [0.16-0.94]), ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation (adjusted ORs 0.23, 95% CI [0.12-0.45]), as well as ventricular arrhythmia requiring resuscitation or anti-arrhythmic therapy (adjusted OR 0.41, 95% CI [0.19-0.88]). All findings were confirmed by the bootstrap procedure. The benefit on death or resuscitated cardiac arrest seemed sustained at 6month follow-up.
Conclusions: Early aldosterone blockade in patients presenting for primary PCI for STEMI is associated with significant reductions in rates of life-threatening arrhythmia and cardiac arrest independent of the initial risk profile, heart failure or hemodynamic status. These findings support the concept of aldosterone blockade early after STEMI, warranting further confirmation by ongoing randomized trials.
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